Arado Ar E.381 In late 1944, Arado submitted their E.

381 parasite miniature fighter t o the RLM (German Air Ministry). some of the other parasite fighters included t he Messerschmitt Me P.1103/I , P.1103/II , P.1104/I , P.1104/II , Sombold So 344 and the Zeppelin "Rammer" . The Ar E.381 went through several different designs , each improving on the last. All versions were basically an armored tube with a small Walter 509B rocket engine providing limited power, and all versions were to glide to the ground and land on a landing skid and slowed by a deployed drag parachute. Also, all versions of the Arado Ar E.381 were to be carried beneath an Arado Ar 234C-3 4-jet bomber. The first version had a circular cross-section fuselage, with a small r ound window in the nose for the pilot's vision. Overall, the entire fuselage was protected by a 5mm armored shell. The pilot lay in a prone position, and the co ckpit was very cramped. A removable 140mm (5.5 inch) armored glass screen was mo unted in front of the pilot. Two small bulges were located on the fuselage sides for the pilot's elbows. Alongside the pilot's legs were two C-Stoff (one compon ent of the rocket fuel) fuel tanks and by his feet a single T-Stoff fuel tank. T he wings were straight and mounted midfuselage, with a stepped bulge above the w ings which held the single MK 108 30mm cannon with 60 rounds. The rocket engine exhausted beneath the tail unit which featured a twin fin and rudder setup. A r etractable skid could be lowered for landing and a drag parachute (ejected from a hatch on the top rear fuselage) was also to be used upon landing. The aircraft could only be entered from a hatch above the cockpit, so the pilot had to enter the E.381 before the aircraft could be attached to the carrier Ar 234C-2 and ha d no way to escape in case of emergency. The second version was very similar to the first version of the Ar E.381 . The overall dimensions were enlarged slightly, but the basic layout remained t he same. The front canopy was enlarged, giving the prone lying pilot better visi on out of the still cramped cockpit. A slight step still remained aft of the ent ry hatch atop of the forward fuselage, and a single MK 108 30mm cannon (45 round s) was still mounted here, firing over the cockpit. The tail unit was similar, w ith the fins being slightly smaller and rounder. Landing was accomplished by mea ns of a built-in landing skid and the same drag parachute, and the same means of entering and exiting the second version of the E.381 (via a hatch on top of the fuselage) remained from the first version. With the third E.381 design, the overall dimensions were again enlarged slightly. The fuselage shape was designed as a triangular cross-section now, wh ich presented an even smaller front cross-section. The step above the fuselage w as eliminated, and the wing was now a shoulder mount design. Also, the wing tip s were turned downwards, to act as skids once the plane landed and tipped from s ide to side. Instead of a single MK 108 30mm cannon, the third version was armed with six RZ65 or 73 spin-stabilized rockets fired from the wing leading edges. The tail unit was redesigned to sit slightly higher than the fuselage and the fi n and rudders changed to a simpler rectangular shape. Landing was the same as th e first two versions, via a retractable landing skid and drag parachute. The pr oblem of entering or exiting the E.381 was solved by adding a side-opening hatch on the starboard side of the forward fuselage. The E.381 was to be attached to the underside of the Arado Ar 234C-3 and to clear the Ar 234's undercarriage upon retraction, the E.381 had to be mounte d aft of the carrier aircraft's center of aircraft. This meant that the E.381's wings had to give lift from the start of the flight. Because the E.381 was so sm all and simple, the carrier aircraft provided heating, electrical and telephone links to the E,381. The telephone link was used to tell the pilot of the E.381 t o help make necessary trim changes. Once the coupled aircraft was carried aloft, it was released at a height of 1000 meters (3281 feet) above the enemy bomber f ormations. It would then make its approach in a shallow, high-speed dive, reachi ng a speed of 820 km/h (510 mph) where an initial attack would take place. The s mall Walter 509B rocket motor would be ignited for a second attack pass, and the n the E.381 would begin a long diving glide back to the ground. Upon landing usi

ng its built-in landing skid and braking parachute, the E.381 could be easily di smantled (into wing, fuselage and tail unit) into pieces light enough to be hand led manually and then loaded into a truck. It was estimated that it would take 600 man-hours of work to produce the E.381. The materials used were to be 350 kg (772 lbs) of steel, 320 kg (705 lbs ) of sheet steel, 120 kg (265 lbs) of wood and 40 kg (88 lbs) of light metal for a total of 830 kg (1830 lbs). A mock-up was built and several unpowered wooden airframes were also said to be constructed, and it is even rumored that a single unmanned prototype was tested by being towed aloft. No powered examples were e ver built or flown, and the RLM decided against pursuing production of the Arado Ar E.381 or any of the other parasite aircraft that had been submitted. Note from author All sources seem to disagree about which version was which. I decided to order them based on the drawings of October 31, 1944 and December 1, 1944, which clea rly show the first two versions. Even though I cannot find a date or drawing fo r Version III, I placed it last because it seemed logical to me that it would be the final version due to its better features (smaller fuselage cross-section, b etter armament, easier pilot access, better fit under the carrier aircraft). View Andreas Otte's Arado Ar E.381 images View Gino Marcomini's Arado Ar E.381 images Arado Ar E.381 >Version Wing Area E.381 I 4.43 m 14' 6" 4.69 m 15' 4" 1.29 m 4' 3" 0.8 m 2' 9" 5.0 m 53.82 ft 2646 lbs 49.1 lbs/ft 559 mph E.381 II 5.0 m 16' 5" 4.95 m 16' 3" 1.15 m 3' 9" 0.92 m 3' 0" 5.0 m 53.82 ft 1265 kg 2789 lbs 253 kg/m 51.8 lbs/ft 885 km/h 550 mph E.381 III 5.05 m 16' 7" 5.7 m 18' 8" 1.51 m Span Length Height Fuselage Height Loaded Weight Wing Load Max. Speed

1200 kg 240 kg/m 900 km/h

4' 11" 0.7 m 2' 4" 5.5 m 59.2 ft 1500 kg 3307 lbs 272 kg/m 55.8 lbs/ft 895 km/h 556 mph Note: The only data (E.381 II) that can be found for R